Matthew 3:1-12
Reflect
At the time that John the Baptist was preaching, God and the nation of Israel were on different pages and moving in two different directions. How could the first century Jewish people reject their own King? Their own Messiah? The kingdom had come--the time was now. Yet, they completely missed the mark.
If the kingdom of heaven was to be realized, then changes would have to be made. John was calling the people to repentance. The people of Israel were missing the mark by thinking wrongly about God, themselves, personal sin and righteousness, and the whole nature of the kingdom. The whole point of repentance literally means to change the mind! And John makes it clear in verse 8 that a change of mind must also lead to a change in behaviour--it must bear fruit. Without fruit, the authenticity of the repentance may be in suspect. It was more than a sorry, but a change in one’s way of life in how they viewed God and their sin.
Perhaps what could be hindering us from seeing the kingdom of God at hand, and the work of the Holy Spirit, is whether or not we’ve genuinely repented from a particular sin.
Apply
As you dive deeply into the depth of your heart, is there anything you’d like to turn away from?
Pastor Nathanael
Pray
- Pray for our childcare team, the children and their families this week. Pray for the Director, Angie Clark.
- Pray for our Lead Team Pastor, Terry Okken and his family.
- Pray for our Missions Ministry Assistant, Oleksandr Lushchyk.
- Pray for our Young Adults Ministry Assistant, Shone Williams.